Punch Gunalan

Gunalan was a talented right-hander who spent what might have been some of the best years of his playing career competing only sporadically as a student in England.

In early 70s, Gunalan and his partner, Ng Boon Bee became the leading men's doubles team in the world. They captured gold at the biennial Asian Games (1970), at the quadrennial Commonwealth Games (1970), and at the Asian Championships (1969). They captured the venerable All England title in 1971.

Though perhaps less consistent in singles than he was in doubles, Gunalan was capable of playing it at the highest level. He reached the All-England singles final in 1974, losing in three close sets to the iconic Rudy Hartono. He also helped Malaysia reach the Thomas Cup final in 1970. He is the only Malaysian to capture gold medals in both men's singles and men's doubles at the Sea Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Asian Games.

After retiring as a player in 1974 Gunalan served in various stints as coach of the Malaysian team, an official in the Malaysian Badminton Association and as an official in the International Badminton Federation (now Badminton World Federation). In 1992, as team manager of the Thomas Cup together with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president Tan Sri Elyas Omar, Malaysia won the Thomas Cup beating Indonesia.

Gunalan died on 15 August 2012 in Subang Medical Centre, Subang Jaya, after a short battle against cancer. He was 68.

Honours of Malaysia

•   Malaysia :
  •   Herald of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (BSD) (1988)
  •   Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (PSD) – Datuk (1992)

Olympic Games (demonstration)

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Olympiapark, Munich, West Germany	Ng Boon Bee	Ade Chandra   Christian Hadinata	4–15, 15–2, 11–15	Silver

Asian Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Kittikachorn Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Muljadi	4–15, 15–3, 15–12	Gold

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Kittikachorn Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Ng Boon Bee	Junji Honma   Shoichi Toganoo	5–15, 15–8, 15–7	Gold

Asian Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Rizal Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Muljadi	11–15, 3–15	Silver

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Rizal Stadium, Manila, Philippines	Ng Boon Bee	Ippei Kojima   Yukinori Hori	15–8, 5–15, 15–11	Gold

Southeast Asian Peninsular Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Yangon, Myanmar	Yew Cheng Hoe	Thongchai Phongful   Singha Siribanterng		Gold
1971	Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Ng Boon Bee	Ng Tat Wai   Ho Khim Kooi		Gold
1973	Singapore Badminton Stadium, Singapore City, Singapore	Dominic Soong	Sangob Rattanusorn   Bandid Jaiyen	10–15, 15–18	Silver

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Yangon, Myanmar	Soon Akayapisud		Gold
1971	Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Tan Aik Huang	12–15, 11–15	Silver
1973	Singapore Badminton Stadium, Singapore City, Singapore	Tan Aik Mong	15–8, 15–11	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1973	Singapore Badminton Stadium, Singapore City, Singapore	Sylvia Ng	Yeo Ah Seng   Tan Chor Kiang	15–5, 15–6	Bronze

Commonwealth Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Edinburgh, Scotland	Ng Boon Bee	Ng Tat Wai   Tan Soon Hoi	15–3, 15–3	Gold
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Dominic Soong	Bob McCoig   Fraser Gow	17–18, 15–5, 15–7	Bronze

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Jamie Paulson	15–1, 15–6	Gold

International tournaments

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1966	Dutch Open	Oon Chong Hau	Knud Aage Nielsen   Elo Hansen	15–4, 15–4	Winner
1968	Northern Indian	Tan Yee Khan	Rudy Hartono   Indratno	15–3, 6–15, 7–15	Runner-up
1969	Singapore Pesta	Ng Boon Bee	Indratno   Mintarja	15–5, 15–5	Winner
1969	U.S. Open	Ng Boon Bee	Ippei Kojima   Channarong Ratanaseangsuang	15–3, 15–7	Winner
1971	Poona Open	Ng Boon Bee	Lee Kok Pheng   Lim Shook Kong	15–4, 15–5	Winner
1971	German Open	Ng Boon Bee	Roland Maywald   Willi Braun	15–12, 15–8	Winner
1971	Denmark Open	Ng Boon Bee	Rudy Hartono   Indra Gunawan	11–15, 15–4, 15–8	Winner
1971	All England	Ng Boon Bee	Rudy Hartono   Indra Gunawan	15–5, 15–3	Winner
1971	Canada Open	Ng Boon Bee	Raphi Kanchanaraphi   Channarong Ratanaseangsuang	15–0, 15–11	Winner
1971	U.S. Open	Ng Boon Bee	Don Paup   Jim Poole	2–15, 18–13, 15–7	Winner
1972	Denmark Open	Ng Boon Bee	Sangob Rattanusorn   Bandid Jaiyen	15–6, 15–6	Winner
1972	German Open	Ng Boon Bee	Derek Talbot   Elliot Stuart	15–9, 15–12	Winner
1972	Singapore Open	Ng Boon Bee	Tan Aik Huang   Tan Aik Mong	11–15, retired	Runner-up
1974	Scottish Open	Tom Bacher	Mike Tredgett   Ray Stevens		Winner

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	All England	Rudy Hartono	15–8, 9–15, 10–15	Runner-up